With the advent of ever more effective forms of noise reduction in a communications headset to reduce the environmental noise sounds that reach the ears of its user, and possibly impede the user's ability to use the communications headset in two-way voice communications, a growing need has been identified to in some way allow speech sounds of another person in the vicinity of the user to still reach the ears of the user so as to allow the user to carry on a conversation with that other person without removing at least a portion of it from at least one of the user's ears. This has led to the introduction of a “talk-through” (TT) functionality being added to such a communications headset that employs one or more filtering techniques to separate speech sounds of such another person from other environmental sounds, and to pass those speech sounds through whatever passive noise reduction (PNR) or active noise reduction (ANR) functionality is provided by such a communications headset, and onward to an ear of its user. Unfortunately, difficulties persist in the provision of both ANR and TT functionality arising from infiltration and/or false triggering of audio compressors arising from a user's own speech.
An additional difficulty in some communications headsets to which ANR, TT and/or other functionality has been added is the accompanying need for increasingly complex signaling between separately encased components of those headsets that are often coupled by cabling. As those familiar with communications headsets meant to be coupled to an intercom system (ICS) or radio (e.g., an ICS or radio built into an aircraft or a military vehicle) will readily recognize, the preferred physical configuration frequently includes a control box that is physically separate and distinct from the earpieces and microphone making up a head assembly worn on a user's head. The provision of a control box is often intended to put manually-operable controls more easily in reach of a headset's user, as well as to lighten the head assembly by moving heavier components (e.g., batteries) into a portion of the headset that is not worn on its user's head. In such communications headsets, the control box is coupled by a cable to the head assembly, and as more functionality is added, this cable is often required to include more conductors, adding to its weight and making it less flexible.